“This lady’s eyes are going blind. I’m waiting for the afternoon match.” Qi Miaohan had no desire to continue watching this cloying drama. With a flick of her sleeve, she headed back to rest.
The onlookers, possessing a fair amount of social awareness, began to disperse as well. Although they had witnessed a good show, it was ultimately an internal squabble between members of the same circle. The afternoon match would be a true clash of titans, bound to be even more spectacular.
“I’m going to the alchemy rooms at the foot of the mountain this afternoon,” Zhai Bairong said to Duan Mingyu.
“Eh? Senior Brother, aren't you coming to watch my match?”
“I want to. However, you’ve likely run out of Fire-Condensing Pills recently, haven't you? You were chilled like that yesterday; I should go and refine some for you now.” *That’s only a side task, though; the main reason is that I promised to make some ‘sugar beans’ for Coal Ball,* Zhai Bairong thought to himself.
“Then I shall trouble you, Senior Brother.” Upon hearing this, Duan Mingyu did indeed feel a deeper chill than usual permeating his body. He was delighted by Zhai Bairong’s thoughtful suggestion.
Duan Mingyu pulled Zhai Bairong and Xu Yehua aside, insisting on chatting for a long while. Before long, Rong Lü joined them as well, and only then did Duan Mingyu finally let go. Zhai Bairong couldn't help but steal a glance toward Nie Shiyun. He saw the man watching the scene with great interest, but as soon as Nie Shiyun noticed him looking back, he quickly averted his gaze and left with the group from Yunqing Pavilion.
Zhai Bairong knew Nie Shiyun wouldn't misunderstand, yet an indescribable sense of anxiety still filled his heart.
The group from Yunqing Pavilion discussed the previous match. Although Zhai Bairong was also one of Duan Mingyu’s companions, the crowd’s annoyance with Xu Yehua had reached its peak yesterday. They didn't care about the reasons behind the "harem infighting"; they simply felt that Zhai Bairong giving Xu Yehua a sound thrashing was immensely satisfying.
Seeing several disciples talking animatedly, Qi Xuan’er whispered to Nie Shiyun, “Senior Brother, they don’t know about the history between you and those two... Please don’t take it to heart.”
“Hmm? What history?” Nie Shiyun looked back with a face of pure ignorance.
“Well, it’s... it’s about that time Duan Mingyu and Zhai Bairong came to Yunqing Pavilion together.” Qi Xuan’er’s tone carried a hint of apology. Back then, for some reason, her Senior Brother had told her to be wary of Duan Mingyu. But she had been muddled at the time; she had stopped a lost Duan Mingyu and, when questioned, accidentally let slip that her Senior Brother remained behind closed doors every day. This led to Duan Mingyu coming directly to his door. She heard that Zhai Bairong arrived afterward as well, making the atmosphere between the three of them very awkward.
“You still remember that? Rest easy, I stopped caring about that long ago,” Nie Shiyun said nonchalantly.
Qi Xuan’er had apologized to him shortly after that incident. He knew she hadn't meant any harm, so it was settled in a few words. Now, Qi Xuan’er had recalled that confrontation at Yunqing Pavilion and felt that even if Zhai Bairong had taken Xu Yehua down a peg, it wasn't necessarily something for her Senior Brother to be happy about.
Speaking of their first meeting, Nie Shiyun felt as if it were a lifetime ago.
At that time, Zhai Bairong had regarded him as a lecherous rogue interested in Duan Mingyu, his every word and action dripping with defensiveness and coldness. Back then, Xu Yehua and Rong Lü had yet to appear, and all of Zhai Bairong’s tenderness was poured onto Duan Mingyu. Now, less than ten years later, everything had been turned upside down. Truly, the ways of the world were unpredictable.
Seeing Nie Shiyun fall silent as they walked, a faint smile appearing on his lips as if he were reminiscing, Qi Xuan’er was surprised. She rarely saw such an expression on him and immediately thought of the "beloved" her Senior Brother had mentioned to her and her sister before. Although she wasn't as blunt as Qi Miaohan, she was extremely curious deep down about what kind of person could have captured her Senior Brother’s heart.
A few hours later, the dispersed crowd gathered once more around the arena.
As soon as Nie Shiyun approached the stage, he felt a familiar sense of pressure. He recalled this aura and guessed that Jiang Baixiang had released her divine sense specifically to observe her prized disciple’s match. She made no effort to hide it, which served as a silent show of support for Qi Miaohan.
Nie Shiyun scanned the area but didn't see Zhai Bairong. He was somewhat surprised, wondering what excuse the man had found to openly miss Duan Mingyu’s match.
Xu Yehua and Rong Lü stood together, though their expressions differed. Despite Zhai Bairong having taught Xu Yehua a lesson and Xu Yehua having apologized to Duan Mingyu, a rift remained between the two men.
Qi Miaohan had been waiting for a while. She watched Duan Mingyu act all mushy with those two men for a bit before she stepped onto the stage with a light, graceful movement, rolling her eyes internally. *Aren't we here to fight? This Duan Mingyu actually went back and changed his clothes during the break. Are we here for a beauty pageant?*
“Fellow Daoist Qi, I ask for your guidance,” Duan Mingyu said softly.
Qi Miaohan broke out in goosebumps. Without a word, she drew her Lotus Leaf Whip and summoned her Lotus Platform. She intended to go all out from the very beginning without showing any mercy. “No need for words. Just show me your true skills!”
With a flick of her wrist, a streak of green light followed the whip as it lashed toward Duan Mingyu. A whip wasn't as sharp as a blade, but it was supple and flexible. Cultivators from Pinyin Pavilion all studied whip techniques, though many disciples also used swords, umbrellas, fans, or other aesthetically pleasing weapons. Qi Miaohan, however, loved using the whip. The slight "swish" the whip made as it cut through the air always made her feel exhilarated.
Duan Mingyu summoned his Spiritual Void Fan, barely managing to block Qi Miaohan’s attack. He felt considerable pressure. His journey had been smooth up until now; this was the first time his cultivation level was being suppressed. Furthermore, not only was Qi Miaohan’s cultivation higher than his, but she also possessed a ruthless streak. Her whip-work was formidable, and she followed up with several Thunder Talismans in quick succession, forcing Duan Mingyu to dodge in a panic.
There were still cultivators below the stage attracted by Duan Mingyu’s figure. Previously, when he held the upper hand against other cultivators, his confident manner of attacking had been eye-catching. Now, he looked quite disheveled. His robes were torn in several places, and his arms and face were marked with scratches. However, these didn't disfigure him; instead, they added a certain air of fragility.
“How pitiful.”
“Senior Qi is far too fierce...”
Qi Miaohan couldn't hear the voices on the stage, but she could see the expressions of the crowd. She saw that while her moves were clearly exquisite and beautiful, the group of blind men below were showing pity toward Duan Mingyu, making her look like the villain. Her anger flared. Instead of holding back, her offensive became even more brutal. She proactively stepped down, crushing two or three glass petals on her Lotus Platform to activate a short-term Spirit Gathering Array and an Acceleration Array.
“What a pity, I don't know how to ‘pity the fragrance and cherish the jade.’ You’ll just have to regret not facing one of those men who feel sorry for you!” Qi Miaohan sneered.
Duan Mingyu was clearly a man, and she was the woman! Yet the phrase "pity the fragrance and cherish the jade" was being applied to him. Qi Miaohan found it utterly absurd.
Duan Mingyu was pushed to the point where his eyes reddened. He manipulated his Spiritual Void Fan to launch several surprise attacks, but they were all blocked by Qi Miaohan’s Lotus Platform. Knowing that the people from Yunqing Pavilion were her peers and had the ability to help her repair her magic treasures, Qi Miaohan no longer held anything back. She crushed the petals of the Lotus Platform like a violent demolition crew, stacking one auxiliary status after another in a short period.
Although Duan Mingyu possessed both Ice and Earth spiritual roots, the proportion of his Earth root was small. He primarily practiced Ice-attribute techniques. The Ice root had good explosive power and was excellent for control. However, Duan Mingyu’s constitution was extremely Yin; if he channeled his Ice root for too long, his entire body would begin to freeze. He could only find an opportunity to swallow the last two Fire-Condensing Pills from his storage ring to neutralize the cold.
Qi Miaohan naturally wouldn't miss this opportunity. With quick eyes and hands, she lashed out with her whip. The green, flexible whip coiled around Duan Mingyu’s slender wrist like a vine. With a loud shout, Qi Miaohan circulated her spiritual energy and sent Duan Mingyu flying.
Unfortunately, Duan Mingyu wasn't thrown off the stage in one move. In his panic, he summoned a snow-white spirit fox. The fox caught Duan Mingyu’s collar in mid-air and brought him back to the ground.
“Thank you,” Duan Mingyu said, patting the spirit fox’s head.
“You still have the leisure to pull this stunt on stage?” Qi Miaohan was speechless and temporarily retracted her whip. She wasn't like the previous match, where there was some emphasis on winning through one's own abilities. She slapped her spirit beast bag, and a majestic Gale-Chasing Snow Leopard appeared between the two people and their beasts.
“That’s Sect Leader Jiang’s spirit beast!”
“To actually lend out her beloved pet... as expected of the most favored closed-door disciple.”
“Isn't this cheating?” someone questioned.
A cultivator from Pinyin Pavilion glared fiercely at the speaker and argued, “The rules allow for borrowing spirit beasts from others. How is that cheating?”
Jiang Baixiang was currently in her cave dwelling several miles away. She was gathered with several sect elders to watch the battle. A mutated single spiritual root was naturally excellent material; in the past, Qi Miaohan had wasted much of her cultivation time. However, recently, the usually flighty Qi Miaohan had become exceptionally diligent for some reason. Jiang Baixiang was gratified and naturally showed her more care than before.
The Gale-Chasing Snow Leopard was a spirit pet that had accompanied Jiang Baixiang from the Golden Core stage to the Nascent Soul stage; its strength was naturally not to be underestimated. The moment Qi Miaohan summoned the leopard, Duan Mingyu’s little fox instinctively began to tremble. Jiang Baixiang knew that Duan Mingyu’s master, Qu Zhanmeng, had several spirit pets whose cultivation was not inferior to the leopard’s, but it seemed he hadn't lent them to Duan Mingyu this time.
It was said that Duan Mingyu was very special in his sect, receiving extra care from his master and even the Ancestor. Looking at it now, that didn't seem entirely true.
“It hurts...!”
Duan Mingyu cried out. How could his spirit fox be a match for the snow leopard? It was defeated in just a few exchanges. Duan Mingyu didn't want the little fox he had raised for a while to lose its life, so he had to recall it. Subsequently, he was caught in a pincer attack by Qi Miaohan’s whip and the snow leopard’s pounces. He accidentally shed blood, leaving three deep claw marks on his arm.
A beauty bleeding naturally caused the audience below to ache with sympathy. Many secretly hoped Duan Mingyu would just admit defeat early rather than continue fighting this madwoman.
Although he knew the injuries could be healed quickly afterward, Duan Mingyu was still terrified by the ugly scars being carved into his jade-white skin. He lost his footing even further. He thought to himself: *I am just a dual-root cultivator at the Early Golden Core stage; I really can't beat a single-root cultivator at the Mid Golden Core stage!*
Duan Mingyu felt he had already worked hard, but unfortunately, Heaven did not favor him, and he was born without the advantages others had. His will to fight vanished. After a few more tentative moves, he finally retreated from the stage with a look of resentment.
“Take the medicine quickly!” Rong Lü rushed over, his expression filled with extreme tension. Xu Yehua also approached, supporting Duan Mingyu as they went to the side to rest.
Duan Mingyu looked back and saw Qi Miaohan looking over with a sharp gaze. He shivered, looking like he was terrified of her.
“Don’t mind that madwoman. She was specifically targeting you,” Rong Lü said dissatisfactorily.
Duan Mingyu shook his head. “She probably still can't let go of Yehua... Sigh, even if she won, she might not necessarily be happy.”
At this moment, Qi Miaohan, standing on the stage, felt incredibly refreshed.
Although this was a semi-final, winning it had been even easier than her match against Rong Lü. She watched Duan Mingyu being supported by the men on both sides, acting like a fragile beauty clutching his heart. She only regretted that she hadn't found an opportunity to make him fall flat on his face instead of letting him retreat voluntarily.
She jumped off the stage, and her senior sisters and juniors from Pinyin Pavilion immediately surrounded her, loudly praising her. They said she had been so domineering and cool on stage. Qi Miaohan was naturally proud; she chuckled a few times, her expression full of triumph.
The group from Yunqing Pavilion prepared to wait for Qi Miaohan’s sect-mates to disperse before going over to congratulate her. Nie Shiyun watched from afar with no small amount of shock. He hadn't expected this match to be such a landslide victory for Qi Miaohan. The situation had truly changed completely. In the original work, the final was between Xu Yehua and Duan Mingyu. Now, it had been completely overhauled into a match between Zhai Bairong and Qi Miaohan. At this point, Nie Shiyun no longer knew how things would unfold.
***
Glossary
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
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煤球 | Coal Ball | The name of the spirit beast/cat.
糖豆 | Sugar beans | Treats or candies, often used for spirit beasts.
蒋白香 | Jiang Baixiang | Sect Leader of Pinyin Pavilion and Qi Miaohan's master.
荷叶鞭 | Lotus Leaf Whip | Qi Miaohan's weapon.
追风雪豹 | Gale-Chasing Snow Leopard | Jiang Baixiang's spirit beast.
曲旃蒙 | Qu Zhanmeng | Duan Mingyu's master.
西子捧心 | Xi Shi clutching her heart | A classic idiom referring to a famous beauty looking fragile and lovely while in pain.
